Vetting Tenants — How we protect the landlord’s interests.

In Stratford_Place_At_Kingstowne, our management staff prefers to deal with reasonable tenants. Here are a few of the traits we expect.

1. A tenant pays the rent on time every month. This means paying on or before the first, rather than at 5 pm on the 5th.
2. A renter is trustworthy. A tenant does not sneak in a co-renter or pet.
3. A renter is fastidious. A renter does not attract pests like rodents and bugs.
4. A tenant does not break the property or its systems.
5. A tenant is courteous and easy to work with. A tenant understands the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
6. A renter doesn't bother neighbors.
7. A tenant reports problems when appropriate. tenants that don't report maintenance issues cost real estate investors money and cause head-aches for property managers.
8. A tenant doesn't complain when it's not appropriate. This means that a renter doesn't demand to replace functioning systems. A tenant doesn't expect more than the lease provides. A renter doesn't complain that an appliance doesn't work when the renter doesn't know how to operate the appliance.
9. A tenant does not smoke in the rental.
10. A renter is looking for a rental term that is as long as the owner wants to rent the home.

So this is what we're looking for in a tenant, but how do we find tenants who live up to this standard? Experience has taught us that difficult tenants can appear as polite, nicely-dress, well educated people with jobs. We have a nose for sniffing out bad renters.